TOMORROW
by moreorlez
Summary: It's never too late to fix your mistakes and pursue happiness; there's always tomorrow. Sharmen fic.
1. Big news for Shane, now what?

**So i posted this fic four years ago in an L word forum, i just thought you may want to read it too, cause lets face it, the ending they gave to Sharmen just sucked! so i did my own version. Enjoy.  
**

* * *

**2 years after Shane left Carmen at the altar… **

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Miss Shane McCutcheon's house?"

"Yes."

"Can I talk to her please?"

"She's speaking."

"Oh, Miss McCutcheon I'm calling from Austin's General Hospital; I was requested to inform you that your mother is here. She needs to talk to you. She's in intensive care, room 5.

*silence*

"…Miss? Are you still there?"

"Um…yeah, yeah…um…Are you su-….which room did you? …. I…" Shane could barely think or speak. She was shocked.

"Room 5, intensive care."

"And what does she… is she…?"

"I'm sorry Miss McCutcheon I can't give you that kind of information right now, but you'll be filled in with all the details you need as soon as you come to the hospital."

"Okay …um…Thank you."

After the nurse hung up, Shane remained standing still with the phone in her hand not really understanding what just happened.

**Later that day…**

"Hey there you are! You better…" Alice pops her head in Shane's room only to find her packing with Jenny rubbing her back.

"Everything is gonna be ok, honey" are Jenny's reassuring words, concern in her own eyes.

"What's going on? … Shane, where are you going?" Alice asks puzzled, looking first to Shane and then her bag.

"Austin. My mom is in the hospital; I have to see her." Shane states coldly without stopping her actions.

"What?! Your mother?!" Alice is stunned, "but Shane this is huge, I mean you don't need…"

"I gotta go" with that, bag in hand Shane storms out of the room.

"CALL ME AS SOON AS YOU GET THERE. BE SAFE!" Jenny screams.

"I WILL."

Alice, open mouthed, stares out into the empty hallway. "What did just…?"

"Come here, Alice" Jenny hugs her.

* * *

All the way to Austin was unreal to Shane. Once she arrived there, grudge and anger had taken her over.

Her mind was full of scenes where she was reproaching her mother. Asking her why? Why she left her, why she never came back, why she didn't look for her all these years, why… she didn't love her.

Sleep was the last thing on Shane's mind, but she still decided to stay in a hotel room close to the hospital for the night. She couldn't rush into something as important as this. She thought it was better to be calm. Tomorrow was enough stress.

The next day had arrived, and Shane is anxious. As expected, she didn't really sleep at all the night before.

Shane walks slowly towards her mom's room. When she finally reaches it, the freshly painted "5" on the door greets Shane.

She is sweating, nervous, angry; she is a whole combination of emotions.

She stares at the number, and for a moment the thought of leaving tempts Shane.

After shaking her head, she takes a deep breath gathering enough courage to finally turn the knob and step inside.

"Shane," the woman in bed says in a low voice as soon as she saw the slender figure. Tears start filling her eyes.

"M- mom?" It's all Shane manages to say. The scene is shocking.

All the anger disappears as she contemplates the woman before her. She feels a lump in her throat.

"I'm sorry," answers her mother with a cracked voice.

Shane couldn't take the tears or the emotions that were overwhelming her, so she runs towards the bed and knelt next to her mother. She hugs her, and both women crying now.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" Bette asks holding Shane by her shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah; I'm fine." Shane is on the couch thoughtful and visibly sad, but there's something else in her demeanor that makes the girls feel uneasy.

"You know we are here to help you Shane whatever you need, any time right? Tina adds touching Shane's arm while giving a "what the hell" look to Bette, who just shrugs.

"Sure, thanks guys, but I guess I need some rest"

Bette, Tina, Alice, Jenny and Helena watch helpless as Shane makes her way to her room. There's a moment of silence which is broken seconds later by Jenny.

"She needs to sleep and relax…"

"Yeah, we all do," states Helena.

Indeed they all were exhausted, not only physically but emotionally too.

The news about Shane's mother suddenly appearing caused a tremendous commotion in all of them.

They were worried about Shane. Then after a couple of months, her mom dies.

The girls immediately flew to Austin to be with a devastated Shane. They were there in those terrible moments.

When the funeral was over and it was time to go back home, they realized Shane was different. All the way back she was quieter than usual and distant, too.

"And now what do we do? Alice asks frustrated.

"Just wait," Helena answers.

"I guess we should give her some time alone. She'll come around." With that, Bette signals the girls to leave the house.

As they do this Tina pleads holding Jenny's hand, "Jenny please, call us if you see any change in Shane's mood."

"I will." Jenny opens the door as they all say their goodbyes.

...

Shane is in her bed looking at the ceiling doing the only thing she's been doing lately: thinking.

The images of the encounter with her mother still fresh in her mind; the scenes flow easily in front of her eyes replaying in a never-ending loop…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"_I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry," apologizes the teary-eyed Shane's mother while stroking Shane's hair._

"_I've missed you so much." Shane mumbles among tears still kneeling and with her head on her mother's chest._

"_I've… missed you too," the woman's voice trails off uncertain about whether she had the right to say that sentence or not._

_Shane holds her breath after hearing that sentence. _

_Her mother stops the stroking scared of her daughter's reaction. _

_Shane slowly moves up until she's seated right next to her. _

Weeping her own tears, Shane looks directly to her mother's eyes.

"_I…" _

"_Shhh…" Shane puts a finger on the woman's lips. "We'll talk about that later," then she holds her hand and just stares at her. _

_Both are now smiling at each other._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shane tosses and turns, the memories make her sad and happy.

She starts crying quietly on her side. All these feelings are overwhelming.

As her crying subsides, she lies on her back again.

She feels that even though she got to enjoy her mother for only two months, something inside her has been healed. But at the same time there's a hole in her heart that no one can fill, not even her mother.

She submerges herself into her thoughtful state again, thousands of things in her mind.

Suddenly her face changes from showing distress to expressing determination.

Shane gets up abruptly and jumps out of bed.

She takes her cell phone out and presses some buttons.

"Hey, Helena I… No, no I'm ok. I just…I need to talk to you. Can we meet tomorrow? Yes, your office is fine… Uh huh. What time do you? …yes, it's perfect. I'll see you then. Thank you, bye." Shane hangs up with a sigh.

She leaves her room and goes to the fridge to grab a beer.

"Shane! How are you feeling, sweetie?" asks Jenny from the desk, laptop open.

"I'm better thanks. I'm…way better." Shane answers her friend with resolve in her eyes. She takes a chair and sits next to her.

Both friends exchange deep gazes.

Jenny smiles and strokes the back of Shane's head seeing hope in her eyes. "That's good."

Shane returns the smile and leans her head on Jenny's shoulder.

She hugs Shane and kisses her forehead.

They stay like that for a while.

* * *

**So... what do you think so far? do you wanna know what happens next? well, all you have to do is let me know =)**


	2. Where is she?

**Here you go! The second part. Give me some feedback, otherwise I won't know if you really like it or not … **

* * *

"Hey Shane, come here sweetheart!" Helena greets Shane with a hug. "How is it going? Are you feeling all right?"

Shane smiles as she realizes how important she is to her friends. "I'm doing better, thanks… But I….wanted to thank you for everything you've done. I mean you guys have been more than my family all this time, and I really appreciate that. Thank you."

"Aw honey, you have nothing to thank me for. All I'm doing is my job as a friend. I'm pretty sure you would've done the same for me." She answers hugging Shane again.

"Yeah, absolutely."

After few seconds of silence Helena proceeds, "So, now take a sit and tell me what can I do for you? What do you need?"

"Uh…" Shane sits down nervousness building up in her body. "I-I want to ask you something…"

"Sure what is it?"

"Um, I…" Shane sighs deeply and clears her throat. "I wanted to know if you have had any kind of communication with… Carmen. If you… have talked to her." Shane's voice trails off, her head down.

Helena grimaces, "Shane … I don't know…"

"Have you?" Shane raises her head.

"Shane, I don't think this is a good idea. I can't talk about this with you."

"Have you seen her?" Shane asks again.

"I…" Helena scratches her head in exasperation. "I promised not to say anything to anyone ok? Don't make me do this."

Shane stands up and walks towards Helena leaning her body into the chair, looking straight into Helena's eyes "Helena please, I need to know this… Have you seen her?"

Helena feels trapped. "Shane I…" she hesitates, "no I haven't seen her, but…"

Shane stares at her expectantly, "But?"

Not able to hold back anymore Helena gives in "I've talked to her …on the phone…once"

"Yes," Shane whispers with her eyes closed, straightening up and releasing the pressure in her chest.

Helena just remains in her seat waiting for Shane to absorb the information.

"Is she… ok?" Shane finally asks turning her back to Helena trying to hide her emotions.

"Yes, she's fine. She's working in New York." Helena confirms

"Do you know where?" Shane turns facing Helena again.

Helena protests, "Please, Shane don't. She's doing fine, she's working, she's happy…just…let her be ok? She's started over, moved on and I think you should do the same."

"Don't ask me to do that. You don't understand. I have to see her, I have to fix it, I have to explain."

"Fix what, Shane?! If you…" Helena stops just in time not wanting to bring up the past. "Just accept the fact that she's ok now and…."

"I love her," Shane admits abruptly surprising Helena. "… I still love her, and I know I was the one who screwed it up ok? That's why I need to talk to her, to face her and let her know that I'm sorry that I was stupid. She deserves to know why I did it. I just want to stop being a coward." She runs her hands down her face. "You know? This thing with my mother has made me rethink my life. I was so mistaken and lost, and I did horrible things… I can't take them back, but what I can do is be honest with her and open myself up to her and spill it all. If after that she doesn't want to see me again…I'll understand…but I have to try. I have to do it Helena, I have to check if there's still a tomorrow for us… please."

Helena looks at her and sees the sincerity in her eyes. She turns towards her desk and starts writing something on a piece of paper. "Look, I don't know exactly where she is, I just know she's deejaying in this new gay club in New York." She hands the paper to Shane "this is the name." She pauses for a second, "I'm sorry but this is all I got."

"Thank you Helena, thank you." Shane takes the paper. "…You don't know how much this mean to me," her voice cracks.

"Please …be careful ok? I really appreciate both of you, and I don't want to see either of you hurting…just…be careful."

"I will… Thank you" Shane hugs Helena really tight. "Thank you very much."

"Good luck."

With that, Shane leaves the office; her heart is full of hope …and fear. She tries to put only positive thoughts in her mind.

The only thing she's sure of now is that she's going to find Carmen. No matter how long it takes she has to see her and explain to her everything. This time she won't hide anything. She knows there's a huge possibility that Carmen might hate her now but she's willing to take the risk, to take that pain…for love.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Finding the club where Carmen was working in New York wasn't that hard after all. Apparently it was a new place but with a nice reputation and well known already, not only for the gay community, but also for dance music lovers. It wasn't a shock for Shane to realize that many people knew about it because of Carmen. "The hot, Latin dj chick that spins there? She rocks!" many said.

Nervously Shane enters the place, and immediately she is enveloped by the thumping music. She looks around with the hope of spotting Carmen somewhere. In the meantime, Shane spots the bar and weaves her way across the dance floor. She's not aware of the stares she's getting from half of the people in the place; she's too busy trying to organize her thoughts. Once she makes it to the bar, Shane orders a beer and stays put.

Fifteen minutes later, a beautiful, slender and tall brunette takes the stage:

"Ok, ok, people I hope this little warm-up has prepared you for what is coming now! And I know you know what it is!"

People cheer.

"Yeah, your favorite girl is here again and is ready to kill! Let's make some noise for Carmen!"

The crowd screams.

Shane's hands start sweating as her eyes wander to the stage and the dj booth. She's desperately searching for the pair of chocolate brown eyes that has seen too many tears and the beautiful face that possesses them.

Suddenly her breath gets caught in her throat at the view in front of her: Carmen. She is unbelievably gorgeous. She has the same big and sweet smile Shane remembered, but her hair is longer. She gets lost in the amazing curves of the Latina. Memories of the times she had that body close to hers runs in her mind. Carmen, who is now in the booth, waves to the crowd and takes the mic from the woman who just introduced her.

"Hey, wassup! Are you ready to party?"

The crowd answers with a big shout.

"Ok, then let's get this party started!" Carmen says giving the mic back to the woman and proceeds to do what she does best, spinning.

Every body on the dance floor immediately starts to gyrate and move to the music.

Shane remains in the same position with her eyes locked on Carmen.

"Want another beer?" the bartender asks.

"Uh…yeah…sure." Shane answers not looking at the guy for a second. She extends her hand to receive the beer and sips it.

Twenty minutes later, she continues to stare at Carmen. She is just hypnotized by the sway of her hips and the movements of her lips as she whispers parts of the lyrics. Shane feels relieved though since the place is so packed, Carmen can't see her. For some reason every time Carmen glances in her direction, she hides behind the bodies. She can't understand this behavior, but right now she is happy just to watch her. As Shane continues to do just that, she quickly remembers that she didn't travel across the country to watch the love of her life from afar. She tries to think of the right words to say without causing a scene. Shane looks at Carmen analyzing a possible reaction – what she'd say, what she would do – but her thoughts get blurred. She observes the tall brunette approaching the dj with a beer in her hand for which she receives in exchange a kiss on the lips and a big loving hug.

"Aw, thanks babe." Carmen says to her girlfriend after the tender hug.

"No prob. That's what my working girl and best employee deserves." answers the brunette giving her a quick peck. After a pause she continues "so, are you sure you'll be able to go? Cause if you are tired I-"

"Yes, honey." Carmen interrupts and smiles widely. "It'd be a pleasure for me to be right there, next to you and be part of that," she strokes her girl's cheek "I feel it's important for both of us to be there."

"I think so, too. Thank you. It means a lot to me." the brunette says as she rests her forehead on Carmen's.

Shane, who saw the whole scene, feels jealous and sad, but not surprised. It was pretty obvious that a woman like Carmen wouldn't take long to get a person in her life. Who could resist such a beauty? And not only that, she was also a great person with huge amounts of love to give. The natural thing to do was to share that love.

That, of course, wasn't a consolation for Shane right now, but she also felt guilty and felt that those uncomfortable feelings she was having were totally deserved. She clearly saw that it wasn't a good moment to talk to Carmen. She gives a final glance at her and starts walking towards the door, but not before she stops to talk to a waitress.

"Hey, I wanted to know if there is a way to contact the dj. You see I'm going to have this party and …"

"Sure." the girl answers. "Just wait a sec," she disappears for a minute or two.

"Here," the girl hands Shane a business card. "Here are the numbers you can use to contact her. You just have to call and set the day. She'll be the soul of the party; you won't be sorry." she smiles.

"Yeah, I bet. Thanks," with that Shane leaves the place.

Walking slowly and looking at the card, Shane reflects on what she just lived moments ago. Shane was happy and a lot of other emotions when she saw Carmen, but she was also a little sad to see that Carmen has moved on and seems happy. Of course Shane didn't want to see her suffering or anything, but she felt like it was going to be really intrusive and selfish to break that harmony.

"What if she's in love? What if she doesn't have feelings for me anymore?" Shane thinks.

But at the same time, she has this feeling in her heart that she has to try, to fight till there's no hope. That's the only way to be sure. She'll have to talk to her… tomorrow.

* * *

**Comments please! **


	3. Memories & Surprises

**And we are half way there… c'mon read! **

* * *

"…_Why?" asks Shane almost in a whisper, scared of the answer._

"_Honey I…" The woman lowers her head in embarrassment. It was so hard to try to explain such an unjustifiable action, but she had to do it. Shane deserved an explanation. She wanted to do it not for herself but for her daughter. She didn't want to leave this world without Shane knowing the truth._

"_I was so lost darling... Your father and I were so immature, so irresponsible… He was looking for women all the time and drinking and… one day he just disappeared... I didn't know what to do. I was so scared and that's when I decided my only solution was drugs. They made me feel so good… That's what I thought, but soon they took my life completely. I couldn't think of anything else than getting high… They made me forget everything…even you." She admits closing her eyes in shame._

_Shane's face shows pain as she asks "that's when you…?"_

"_Yes," her mother interrupts her. "I just couldn't take it anymore... I wasn't taking care of you, and I thought I was being a bad mother. I thought I wasn't a mother so… I was really sure I was doing the right thing by taking you to the foster care… At least you wouldn't be hungry or cold… I was certain they'd take care of you."_

_*Silence*_

"…_But now I know I was a coward…" she continues "… I know if I had been a little bit brave I could've done it…be a real mother, not this shitty…" the woman regrets. She's crying._

"_Stop it, stop it." Shane hugs and consoles her. "It's ok… Shhh… I have you." She can feel her own tears rolling down her cheeks._

"_I thought that was the best I could do… I thought you'd be better without me. I was only going to hurt you. I swear I just wanted to save you from me. I…"_

"_I know. I know." Shane hugs her even tighter. She feels sick; the air is not flowing well in and out her lungs. Those words, so familiar to her, are killing her inside. "It's all right. We're gonna be all right," she manages sobbing._

"_I'm sorry sweetie. I'm so sorry."_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXX_

After shaking the memory from her mind, Shane steps out of her car and begins to look for the house. These are the moments when she realizes that the phone book is, indeed, useful.

She checks every street carefully. She turns one corner, walks a little and stops at the fact that the next house matches the address. She wants to move, but she can't.

The house is big, but looks so warm just like a family house. The neighborhood seems to be pretty quiet; that's what Carmen always wanted: a noisy job, a quiet house.

Shane decides just to go back to the corner and smoke a cigarette. Maybe after that, she'll get enough courage to ring the doorbell.

Almost half an hour later, Shane is still in the same corner walking in circles trying to figure out if this was a good idea after all. Again, the doubts about Carmen's reaction take her over. The last thing she wants to do is upset her.

Suddenly, the sound of a car breaks her concentration. It's from a minivan that just has parked in front of Carmen's place. Shane looks expectantly as someone steps out the car.

"Yeah, I got him."

Shane can't believe it. It's Carmen.

In an impulsive move, Shane starts walking towards her; she's just a few feet away from her when suddenly…

"Here we are little man. Estamos en casa, sweet home baby."

Shane freezes.

Carmen is right there holding in her arms a cute one-year-old Latin looking baby boy, whom someone handed to her from inside the van.

Shane soon notices that the person is the same brunette who was kissing Carmen last night at the club.

"You weren't scared of the water were you? No you weren't. You were such a brave boy; eres muy valiente." Carmen speaks softly to the kid who smiles at her.

"I think your mother was more scared than you, sweetie." The other woman says to the baby. Carmen and her burst into laughter.

"Tomorrow will be way better. You'll see."

They are so focus on the kid that neither of them notices that someone is watching the scene really close to them.

It takes a few seconds more for Shane to react. As soon as she does, she immediately turns around and walks really fast, bumping into a man.

"Hey!" screams the man.

"I…. Sorry." Shane mumbles and runs.

Carmen and her girlfriend gaze at their direction. One of the voices sounded familiar to Carmen.

Shane runs without stopping towards her car. Once she found it, she opens the door quickly and starts the engine as fast as she could.

"Shit, shit, shit." She curses her luck, hitting the wheel. "_What if she saw me? Did she see me? Did she know it was me? Nah!" _Shane thinks while driving.

She can't get rid of the image of Carmen and the baby from her mind. "She has a baby… a baby… Fuck" that was something that Shane hadn't counted on.

Carmen now has her own family. Things are going to be more difficult than she thought.

"Oh man… a son."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**1 ½ years ago. Club Damelo – New York **

"Come in, Carmen. Take a seat."

"Thanks…" Carmen says shyly trying to remember the name of the woman.

"Nicole." she smiles.

"Oh right, right... Nicole." giggles Carmen. Her captivating smile is still there – Nicole notices – but with a shadow of sadness.

"I'm glad you've decided to come." Nicole affirms without hiding her excitement. After all, a talent like Carmen's is what her new club needs right now.

"Yeah, me too. Your proposal sounded interesting, so here I am."

Nicole proceeds to explain to Carmen everything about the job. After that, she decides to show Carmen the place.

"It's a great place. I can't believe you don't have a partner. I bet it's a huge responsibility to open up a place like this on your own."

"Well it is a huge responsibility, and I did have a partner – my ex-girlfriend, but she…" Nicole pauses with a sad look, "she couldn't confront the challenge."

"Oh I see. Too much work, huh?"

"No, I meant this challenge." Nicole says caressing her belly.

"Oh… You…um…" Carmen points at Nicole's belly.

Nicole smiles now with a glow in her face. "Yes, I'm pregnant. I was dying to have a baby. She was, too at the beginning, but then she just freaked out and told me she wasn't ready.

She wanted me to get an abortion." She shakes her head at the memory, "but I told her I was going to have this baby with or without her. And well, I bought her half of the club, and here it is… All mine."

Carmen just stares in awe at this woman. "Wow, you are amazing. You are running this place all by yourself and …you are pregnant."

"I guess I'm doing my best. That's what you do when you have a dream, right? You just don't give up, and well I have to continue for my two dreams… It doesn't matter if your heart is broken. It doesn't matter if the person you trusted runs away like a coward. You just have to carry on."

Carmen feels her eyes watering. "Yeah… a broken heart… a coward…"

"You seem to know what I'm talking about, huh?"

Carmen just nods biting her lip not wanting the tears to flow.

"I guess this is destiny," offers Nicole excited. "Can't you see? That's why we should work together Carmen. I need someone to help me out here; you need to be busy doing what you really love. We need to work hard and forget about them… Fuck them…" she states with her voice cracking at the end.

"Yes." Carmen looks at Nicole straight to her eyes, no doubt in her face.

"Yes? Oh Carmen you won't regret it." Nicole hugs Carmen.

"This is good… It feels good." Carmen says more to herself than to Nicole.

"Yeah, I know. We'll be okay."

It's weird how connected they feel to each other. It's like they've known each other forever. After pulling apart, they stare at each other for a moment holding hands til Carmen realizes it's getting too private, too intimate.

"Hey … um." Carmen lets go of Nicole's hands, "…So we have to start soon if we want this place to rock, huh?"

"Um, yeah, of course." Nicole gets back to reality.

"So, what's first?" asks Carmen trying to lighten the mood.

"I guess you should bring your music and check the sound."

"Right, you're totally right. Okay, um… you just wait for me here. It won't take long for me to bring my stuff and…"

"Hey, wait. Wait." Nicole stops her. "You don't have to do this right now. I mean I'm ok with the fact that you want to start as soon as you can but… I guess it's been a long day and emotionally draining…"

Carmen giggles and lowers her head in embarrassment.

"…But how about tomorrow?"

"That sounds like a plan."

Both women remain in silence for some time until Nicole speaks.

"I want to know about you Carmen. How about if we take a cup of coffee, and we share our stories?

"All right."

They walk slowly talking all the way to the nearest diner. She doesn't know what it is, but she feels incredibly comfortable with Carmen. _"Not another Latina… not again…"_

* * *

** Should I continue posting? Comment! **


	4. Round two: Shane & Carmen

**One more chap! If you are reading this, say something! What's the point of posting if nobody is reading :S**

* * *

Shane is looking through the window of her hotel room, lost in thought as she smokes.

The room is dark.

Shane turns and looks at the bag that is on her bed. She looks at it for a few seconds, and then she slowly walks towards it. She stops at one side of the bed and put out her cigarette. Then she lifts her bag and heads to the door. She stops abruptly and throws her bag at the wall. She grabs her head with both hands and screams in frustration.

She sits at the edge of the bed still holding her head. She can feel her head spinning as the memories of her mother take her over.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"_And you really love her?" _

"_With all my heart…" Shane answers._

_Her mother can see love in the eyes of her daughter, but also lots of pain. _

_There's a moment of silence in which Shane lowers her head and let the tears flow._

"…_But I screwed up." she says with a cracked voice._

"_Yeah, I know the feeling," her mom whispers looking at her hands. "But it's not too late for you honey… It's never too late for anyone." _

"_For me it is," Shane offers defeated. _

"_No." her mother states firmly. "You want to see an example?"_

_Shane just sighs._

"…_Just look at us." _

_Now Shane pays attention to her mother._

"_See, I thought it was too late for us, honey.__I thought you'd never forgive me for what I did, and I stupidly let year after year pass 'til… I just gave up." _

_Shane lowers her head in thought._

"_But…" continues the woman "…destiny had a funny way of forcing me to finally look after you… I mean, what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't wait to be in the same condition I am in to amend your mistakes." the woman's voice cracks. "You don't know how I regret not doing it sooner. I waited all this time, and I lost the chance to know you better. I…" _

"_Shhh…" Shane stands up and hugs her mother, "just forget about that. We are here now, and that's the only thing that matters."_

_The woman lets go of Shane's embrace and looks at her. "I don't want you to wait more than 20 years, and wait 'til you are dying in a hospital bed to tell the most important person in your life that you are sorry, that you made a mistake, that you want a second chance…that you love her." _

_Shane stares at her_

"_Honey, if it wasn't too late for us, it's not late for you. I'm so happy that despite being such a selfish monster, I still got the chance to see you before I…" she looks away. "You don't want to miss all that I've missed because of my cowardice! You are better than me sweetie; you are better than your father."_

"_No, I'm just like…"_

"_Please! You are not like him! Forget about what he said. He's just a parasite that thinks that the best way to justify his actions is by blaming his genes. Shane…"she takes Shane's face with both hands "… It was enough for me to just look into your eyes to realize the great loving and caring person you are. You have a great heart in there. You are the kind of person who would sacrifice anything because of the people you care about, right?"_

_Shane nods slowly._

"_That honey, that's what makes you different from me and your father… Don't let your fears defeat you like they did to me. Don't stop a possible tomorrow… Just fight, fight for your love, and fight 'til there's no more air in your lungs... The only person to walk away is her. That's the only obstacle you'll have. If she wants you out of her life even after everything is said and done. That's it; but at least, you've tried and you'll know for sure that you had your chance… Nothing is over 'til she says so." _

_XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
_

Shane let her body fall completely on the bed, and she puts her arm over her forehead.

_ … Nothing is over till she says so..._ those words roamed in her mind 'til she fell asleep.

The next morning she doesn't know exactly how she ended up there, but she's right in front Carmen's house decides that there's no time to waste or think and knocks.

The door is opened by Nicole.

Shane can't help the jealousy running through her veins as she watches the woman who has Carmen by her side. She tries to control the jealousy that is threatening to make itself known, and she speaks carefully.

"Excuse me… I want to talk to Carmen please... I'm…"

"Shane." Nicole calmly completes the sentence.

Shane is surprised that the woman knows her.

Nicole looks at her from head to toe, and instead of anger or hate, Shane can see pity in the woman's eyes.

"She's in the park right across the street with the baby." Nicole states coldly and closes the door.

Shane doesn't know what to make of her attitude, but again there's no time to waste. She needs to talk to Carmen, now.

Shane is already in the park.

It's a little crowded right now. Parents and kids are all over the place.

She starts looking for Carmen, checking carefully every spot till she noticed her.

There she is. Carmen.

She's sitting on a bench lovingly rocking the baby's carriage.

Shane admires how beautiful Carmen looks interacting with the baby, and how tenderly she looks at him.

For a moment Shane has doubts whether this is a good moment to approach, but then she decides that it's now or never.

She slowly walks towards Carmen.

When she finally gets to the bench, Carmen's back is to her because she's playing and talking to the boy.

Shane sits next to Carmen and was just about to talk when Carmen straightens in her seat, sighs deeply and turns to her.

"Shane….."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"_Hey!" Carmen heard a man scream. _

"_I….sorry." _

_Carmen and her girlfriend gaze at their direction. _

"_That voice, that voice," Carmen thinks. "It's… It can't be." Carmen gives the baby to Nicole and runs after the person who just went around the corner._

"_HEY, CARMEN! WHAT'S…!" Nicole screams, but Carmen didn't hear her. She turned the corner already._

_Carmen runs a little more but suddenly stops when she recognizes a car just meters away from her: it is Shane's car being started by…Shane, herself._

_ Carmen watches in awe as Shane drives away. _

_She suddenly starts losing her balance, so she looks for support in a street light. _

_Her head starts spinning and she feels dizzy as the images of the wedding night come to her mind. She can't breathe. She feels her stomach doing flips, so she holds it. _

"_Miss, are you ok?" _

_She looks up to see some people looking at her. She instinctively moves away from them, not answering nor looking back at them. _

_She walks to her house slowly with the images of that day still right in front of her eyes. _

_The voices and sounds in her ear like it's happening right now. _

_Being one house away, Nicole spots her and runs towards her._

"_Carmen, honey, what's going on?" She takes her by her arms. "Oh my God, you are shaking! What's wrong Carmen? Carmen?" Nicole is terrified by Carmen's state. _

"_Sh-Sh-Shane." Carmen whispers with eyes wide open._

"_Oh my God, honey." Nicole hugs her._

"_She, she …" Carmen can't finish the sentence and bursts into tears._

_Nicole holds her even tighter as she cries out loud. "It's okay. Everything is gonna be okay. I've got you, I've got you." _

_And with that she takes Carmen into the house. _

_XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
_

"Shane." She looks at her with a half smile.

Shane's taken aback. "How... how did you...?"

"I saw you yesterday…running," she laughs bitterly. "I recognized your voice and I followed you…I don't know why."

Shane closes her eyes feeling really ashamed. "I…I'm sorry I didn't want to…" she stops.

Both of them stare at each other in silence. Shane's eyes reflect longing, regret, and desire; Carmen's eyes on the other hand, only show pain.

"So….what's up?" Carmen asks not knowing what else to say to the woman who broke her heart and nearly destroyed her faith in love.

"Carmen I need to talk to you, I need to explain."

"Um," Carmen interrupts her. "I don't really think there's anything to explain Shane."

"Yes there is. There are some things you deserve to know."

Carmen is not really interested in what Shane has to say, but she thinks that the truth won't kill her; in fact, she believes that maybe it could be a good way to move on. With some luck, tomorrow might look better after this.

"Ok, if you think you need to explain yourself" she shrugs, "but this is not the right moment or the right place." She then strokes the baby's face. "Plus, I need to take this little fella to his swimming class."

"Oh right." Shane looks down sad. "Um…by the way…" She lifts her head shyly and points at the baby "your son is beautiful."

"My son?" Carmen chuckles, "I wish he was mine." She takes the boy in her arms. "He's Nicole's baby. He's only one year old and his name is Alonso," she states proudly.

Shane feels like a heavy weight has left her body. She then sighs in relief.

Carmen looks at her with a brow lifted and shakes her head.

"Anyways I gotta go now." She puts the baby back in his carriage, "where are you staying?"

"Oh I'm staying at the Rio Hotel, room 405.

"Yeah, I know where it is. Ok, I'll be there at 7; see you then, bye."

"Bye."

Shane watches Carmen leave.

She didn't think that her first encounter with Carmen would be so relaxed, but they didn't really speak at all.

Shane stands up and mentally prepares for what is coming tonight…that'd surely be something else.

* * *

**comments please!**


	5. Sharmen?

**And we're almost there! I wanna thank all your kind comments, they make me very happy, so keep them coming! See? it's not that hard to say something lol**

* * *

Carmen is in the van coming back from Alonso's swimming lesson. She's submerged in her own thoughts, accompanied by an understanding Nicole who's driving.

Carmen still couldn't understand her reaction earlier; she thought she'd be furious or that she'll cry like crazy, but she was calm and cool in front of Shane. That's really incredible coming from her.

She then remembers the long conversation she had with Nicole the night before and how amazing and sympathetic she was with her.

She looks at her and smiles to herself at the realization that she's lucky to have such a great woman in her life, who came with a bonus: Alonso.

The baby is sound asleep in her lap as she caresses his hair. She loves the little man very much, like he was hers too. She feels so comfortable with them.

"We're home."

Her meditation is broken by Nicole's voice. She didn't realize when the car stopped moving.

"Oh, hey here's the baby. I guess today lesson was tough, huh?" Carmen tries not to show her concern.

Nicole just smiles at her. "Yes, it was. He's pooped. I better put him in his cradle and…" she pauses for a second "…and I think you should get ready for what is coming tonight." She then gets closer to Carmen. "You know if you think this is not a good idea…"

"No, I'm fine." Carmen interrupts.

"So, do you really feel okay with this?"

Carmen looks back at Nicole and smiles. "Yes I do now, thanks to you." she then gives Nicole a quick peck and goes inside the house.

...

It's already 7 and Shane is in her room expecting Carmen. Her future depends on what she'll say and she knows it.

She paces the room looking at her watch every 5 seconds trying to find the right words to express to Carmen all she's been keeping inside.

A loud knock on the door startles Shane.

Feeling the same anxiety she was feeling the day she met her mom, Shane opens the door…

One hour later Carmen is standing in front of Shane -who is on the edge of the bed- looking at the floor trying to process everything she just heard.

"I'm sorry." Shane whispers.

Carmen, unable to hold her tears anymore, blurts out.

"And you waited two years to tell me all this? You waited for your mother to appear and die to finally have the courage to confront me?! Huh? And all the pain you put me through? Am I supposed to forget it just like that?! Do you have any idea how I felt? Did you ever sit and think about it? I wanted to die Shane! Do you have any idea how many times I…?

"No I don't! I don't!" Shane yells, interrupting her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Shane sobs.

She moves towards Carmen and hugs her. They start crying out loud.

After some time, Shane realizes that she has Carmen in her arms.

The smell of the Latina's hair brings back all kinds of memories. Her skin is so soft that it causes her desire to emerge.

She pulls away a little, just enough to look into Carmen's eyes.

The passion and love reflected there takes her breath away.

She wants nothing more than to kiss Carmen, but before her body follows her thoughts she feels Carmen's lips on hers.

At first the kiss is tender and soft like they want to feel every moment of it, but rapidly grows passionate.

They devour each other's mouths till the desire is so unbearable that both start moaning.

"I want you so much," Shane mumbles amidst kisses.

Then without breaking the kiss, Carmen pushes Shane slowly backwards towards the bed.

They roam their hands all over each other's bodies; their moans are louder than before.

Shane tries to pull Carmen's shirt off, but she pushes her on to the bed.

Carmen strips sensuously with a drooling Shane looking at her from the bed without blinking.

As Carmen is stepping out of her thong, Shane -never looking away- starts unbuttoning her own shirt.

"Uh-uh." Carmen stops her, straddling Shane's legs "leave that to me."

Shane obliges sheepishly.

While Carmen is doing that, she runs her hands over the Latina's legs letting a loud groan to escape her lips.

Carmen gasps and closes her eyes at the touch, trying hard not to stop her actions.

In seconds, she has Shane naked.

Both of them take in the other's naked body.

Carmen leans in and kisses Shane feverishly; climbing on top of her while Shane runs her hands all over Carmen's back finally resting on her ass, enjoying the soft mounds.

Carmen slowly makes her descent to Shane's neck, licking and biting every inch of it; then she goes even lower to the small breasts. First, caressing them and then taking a nipple into her mouth eliciting a loud moan from Shane.

As she continues to savor the hard nipples like there's no tomorrow, her right hand goes south to find Shane's center.

Shane at the moment is stuck on Carmen's cheeks; she wants so bad to move her hands somewhere else, but the Latina's sensual loving caused her to lose control over her muscles.

Carmen finally reaches her destination. She lightly rubs her fingers over Shane's opening both whimpering at the sensation. Carmen teases her for a little while until she finally inserts two fingers into Shane's folds.

"Oh, God yes!" Shane cries immediately thrusting her hips into Carmen's fingers.

The Latina rubs her thumb over Shane's clit, which only increases her need.

She can feel her own body react to Shane's cries of pleasure. Then to her surprise, she feels Shane's hand on her pussy making her groan.

Carmen pushes her fingers deeper into Shane as she inserts two fingers into Carmen as well.

Both of them moan, groan, cry and grind against each other; pumping their fingers deeper and faster each time.

Carmen feels Shane's walls closing around her fingers and makes a last move to bring Shane into an earthshaking orgasm.

With Shane still writhing beneath her, she feels her own orgasm spread all over her body.

The waves of pleasure run through their emotionally and physically exhausted bodies.

Once the waves have subsided, Carmen moves to Shane's side.

Cuddling and still breathing heavily, they slowly drift to sleep.

…

Shane stirs in the bed and squints at the sunlight peeking through the curtains.

It takes her a few seconds to get back to reality and remember the previous night.

She smiles to herself still not opening her eyes and moves her arm to her side only to find... nothing.

She quickly sits up and looks around.

For a moment the idea that it was just a dream crosses her mind, but she's actually naked so it was pretty obvious that it was real.

She jumps out of the bed and runs towards the bathroom, but there's no Carmen.

Panic takes over Shane.

She gets dressed as fast as she can and storms out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXX

_It's 3 AM. Carmen opens the door of her house as quietly as she can, but freezes in surprise at the view in front of her: Nicole on the couch watching TV. _

_As soon as Nicole notices Carmen, she turns off the TV and crosses her arms. _

"_Did you fuck her?" she asks with a grim tone never looking at her._

_Carmen just lowers her head._

"_Hope you found the answers you were looking for," Nicole states before standing up and leaving the living room._

"_Fuck." Carmen mutters. She then closes the door and walks slowly to the couch where there's already a blanket on the armrest. _

_She takes it and spreads the blanket over herself as she lies down. She sighs deeply. _

_The last thing she wants to do right now is sleep._

_XXXXXXXXXX  
_

Shane was heading to Carmen's house. Soon she realized that it was a bad idea, on account of what just happened between them the night before. She decided to go to the club hoping that maybe Carmen is there.

A wave of relief runs through her body as she enters the place and sees Carmen checking the sound on the stage.

"Carmen."

Carmen looks at her shocked and shakes her head in disbelief.

"We need to talk," Shane says firmly.

"Do we?" Carmen answers sarcastically.

"Carmen, please." Shane pleads.

Carmen sighs defeated, "Okay, okay fine. Let's go to the office."

Once the office door closed, Shane starts talking.

"What's going on Carmen? Last night we…"

"Last night I went to see you as requested. You explained yourself, and I heard all you wanted to say." Carmen offers nonchalantly.

"And we made love," Shane adds.

"And we had sex," Carmen corrects her.

"Bullshit" Shane chuckles. "You can't lie to me, Carmen. I saw it in your eyes and I felt it."

"You felt what, Shane?"

"Love... I love you." Shane looks into Carmen's eyes, "and I know you love me too."

"Shane I…" Carmen looks away "... I…. I don't know what I feel for you anymore ok?"

"But Carmen I…"

"Look Shane…" Carmen takes a deep breath "I have to admit that I still have feelings for you... I can't lie to myself, but I don't know if I could take you back again. It's not that I don't believe all the things you said to me, I do. Yesterday I could see honesty in your eyes, but somehow I needed to prove a point to myself. Yes, I almost got lost in your" she shakes her head "… I don't know what exactly, but then all those memories came back to me and I realized I haven't forgiven you… and probably never will. That's why I slept with you, to prove to myself that I was no longer under that magic love spell. I was in control the whole time; I was aware of all that was happening, and I realized it's gone… you and me… it's gone."

"Please Carmen don't say that," Shane says with a cracked voice.

"My place now is here Shane, with Nicole and Alonso. They are my family; they make me happy and I want to be with them. That's the right thing to do."

"No, Carmen your place is with me. We love each other. We can try again I know we…."

"Stop it Shane. There's no tomorrow for us anymore can't you see? That special something is gone, and there's nothing we can do to bring it back. I'm sorry."

Shane approaches Carmen. "No Carmen that's not true, please we…"

"She made her choice now leave her alone" Nicole interrupts Shane. She then steps inside leaving the door wide open.

Shane looks at Carmen waiting for her to say something.

"Please Shane… just go" Carmen says looking at her.

That's all Shane needed to hear. She immediately composes herself and leaves the office, stopping briefly at the door to look at Carmen before disappearing.

Carmen sits in the chair looking down, letting the tears she was holding fall freely.

* * *

**Ok, next chap is the finale so i wanna read what's on your minds, c'mon don't be shy.**


	6. Decisions, decisions

**And it's a wrap! I wanna thank all of you for your comments, it's nice to know you enjoyed this Sharmen fic. **  
**If you feel like it, you can check my Brittana fics too and let me know what you think. **

**Without further ado here's the final chapter of Tomorrow.**

* * *

"…_and this one is at Alice's birthday party last year, we threw her a huge party. We were trying to make up for previous one… we were totally involved in our own things that we forgot" Shane admits embarrassed "…but the last one, she loved it! It was wild," she said lost in the memory of that night._

_Her mother smiles weakly through the big tube now covering her face, "You've got a great family, hon." she mumbles._

"_Yeah I know. They're great. They took me into their circle, I really don't know why. They didn't care about my past; they just accepted me for who I was. They love me and I love them, too. We are more than family now." Shane says with sparkling eyes._

"_I know now that you are going to be ok. They'll be there to help you. You won't be alone... ever, sweetie" her mother says softly as she takes Shane's hand._

"_Hey, that's enough slide shows for today. You need some rest. I'll continue with more pictures tomorrow." _

_The woman's eyes begin to water at the sound of that last word. She then slowly removes her oxygen mask._

"_What are you doing?" Shane protests and tries to stop her mother._

"_Honey," the woman gently takes Shane's hand from the mask and kisses it, and places the oxygen mask on the side again. "I just want to tell you that I'm so happy I had the chance to see the wonderful person you've become. I…" she stops to take a breath, "I know you are a human being full of flaws and you made lots of mistakes but .." she breathes again "I also know you've got a big heart, a big heart that can't overflow completely because of your fears." She now coughs._

"_Mom, really you don't need to say all these things. What you need now is your mask, please just let me…"_

"_Wait," she puts her hand across her own face. "Do you know what the only thing that's stopping you from being happy? You know what you need? _

_Shane looks at her questioningly._

"_You need to forgive yourself, honey… forgive yourself as you were able to forgive me." She holds both hands of her daughter, "If a person like me had the opportunity to be forgiven, don't you think you can be forgiven, too?" _

_Shane looks at her and smiles._

_The woman strokes Shane's face "I love you baby" she says letting her tears flow. _

"_I love you, too." Shane leans in to kiss her mother's forehead and hugs her. _

_Thirty minutes later, the woman is sleeping with Shane by her side looking at her, taking care of her. Suddenly the heart monitor starts beeping. _

_Shane jumps from her seat and runs to the door._

"_HELP, WE NEED A DOCTOR PLEASE." _

_In seconds the room that moments ago was peaceful and quiet, now is full of doctors and nurses trying to revive her mother. She watches helplessly through the glass door as her mother is receiving injections, and the doctors charge the paddles and shock her heart again and again._

"_No, please I can't lose you again." She whispers among tears._

_Finally her worst fear comes true when the doctors stop their actions. _

_She pushes the door open "WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY DID YOU STOP?" _

"_I'm sorry Miss McCutcheon, there's nothing else we can do… She's gone." _

"_NO, DON'T SAY THAT!" She kneels next to her mother and takes her by the arms "MOM, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN. I NEED YOU MOM, MOOOOM!" She hugs the body of her now dead mother._

"_Oh my God, Shane," Alice enters the room. Her eyes immediately fill with tears as she feels a horrible deja vu develop in front of her. She slowly kneels next to her friend._

"_I lost her, Alice. I lost her forever." Shane hugs her. _

_Both friends cry out loud in each other's shoulders. _

_XXXXXXXX_

Shane cries silently in her bed, holding her pillow; she can't help the bad memories from invading her mind right now.

It's been a week since she last talked to Carmen in her office. That same day she packed her bag and returned to Los Angeles. She didn't say a word to her friends. She didn't need to because it was pretty obvious what had happened. Since that day, she's barely left her room. She stays there all the time thinking and crying.

"Shane?" Alice slowly opens the door and enters the room. She has a bowl of hot soup in her hands. "Jenny told me you haven't eaten today."

"I'm not hungry."

"I know you're not, but you need to eat to be okay Shane. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. We need you here Shane… I need you… please?" Alice begs.

Shane looks at her with compassion. "Ok, I'm gonna eat it. Just leave it there. Thank you."

"You're welcome… Now I leave you alone. I trust you. See ya later." She closes the door.

Shane sits up and takes the bowl from the nightstand.

She takes the spoon and stirs her soup as softly one name escapes her lips. "Carmen…"

**The Planet – 11 p.m.**

"I don't know what else to do. This is not fair you know? First her mother now Carmen, shit! This is so fucked up!" Alice complains.

"We know baby girl, but this is something Shane has to overcome by herself. We can only be there to support her," offers Kit.

"She needs some time alone to absorb her pain. We all do at some point," Jenny adds.

"But she's been in her room all this week! She needs to go out or something."

"Or…" Bette adds, "We can all go and have a gathering with her in her room."

"That's a wonderful idea, Bette!" Helena smiles.

"So what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Tina stands up and signals the girls to follow her. "You coming, Kit?"

"Yeah, but let me fix some things here first. I'll be there in a sec."

"Damn! Why didn't it occur to me before? I'm the smart one here you know?" Alice pouts.

All the girls laugh as they head to Shane's.

**Shane's place **

Shane finally decides to at least get out of her room.

Those conversations she had with Alice and Jenny made her realize that she has to move on. Now that everything seems to be so wrong, she needs to be outside, hang out with her friends and distract herself with good thoughts.

She also remembered the time Bette came and told her that she must honor her mother's memory by remembering all her words, all the conversations and keep them in her heart with all her love and happiness. A valuable thing as that doesn't deserve to be tainted by sadness.

She is grateful she has a group of friends that really care about her.

Shane slowly walks to the living room and sits on the couch; she then takes the remote and turns on the TV. A show calls her attention and she watches it quietly.

Suddenly a knock on the door startles her.

She then smiles to herself knowing that maybe her friends decided to keep her company.

"I knew you guys…." She stops abruptly.

"Hey…um… I guess we have a conversation to finish, huh?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Carmen is sitting next to Alonso's cradle; she caresses his head as she looks at him tenderly. She enjoys the boy's sweetness while she takes in what just happened some hours ago. _

_She's reflecting on Shane's words, especially everything concerning her mother. But what really caught her attention was Shane's behavior. _

_Was Shane running after her? Was she crying for her? Was she begging for her to come back?_

_Those are things that Carmen never thought Shane would do, at least not for the love of a woman. _

_At that moment she realizes that the unexpected return of her mother and her sudden death has affected Shane's life forever. _

_She has changed Carmen concludes._

"_Do you still love her?" asks Nicole with the tranquility that has always identified her. She's leaning against the door frame._

_Carmen turns to face her. "I don't know." _

"_I think you do." Nicole gets closer to Carmen, "but I also think that there's too much pain which is making it hard for you to see." She takes a chair and sits opposite to Carmen. "Sometimes the person we love hurts us so much that all the love we have disappears into the deep recesses of our hearts that we think that it doesn't exist anymore, but we know that we still love that person."_

"_I'm scared," Carmen admits. _

"_I know you are, but sometimes we need to take some risks. It's what makes us feel alive, you know? Sometimes we just want to stay in a situation because it's safe or comfortable. It may seem like a good idea, but is that what you really want? Are you sure you can be completely happy in this situation? Forever?"_

_Carmen looks at Nicole really understanding what she's saying but some other things come to her mind. "But I don't want to lose you Nicole. I don't want to lose Alonso." She takes Nicole's hand._

"_And you won't. We shared so many good things that it would be illogical to forget them just like that, but I also know that I want you to be happy. I can see that your happiness is next to that woman. _You don't have to sacrifice your own happiness for us cause we'll always be part of your life, we'll always be here. You'll be very welcome at any time if you decide to come see us."

"_I don't know if I can… I don't know if I can forgive her."_

"_Everybody deserves a second chance. Everybody."_

_The high intonation on the last word didn't go unnoticed by Carmen. She looks deeply into Nicole's eyes and suddenly smiles. _

_Nicole nods returning the smile and Carmen understands. _

_She now hugs Nicole really tight. "Thank you"_

"_You're welcome" Nicole returns the embrace lovingly._

After some seconds _Carmen moves back a little to look at her face "You are an amazing woman, and someone will be so lucky to have you," she winks._

"_Hope so," Nicole smiles._

_Carmen then leans in to kiss Alonso's forehead. "Bye, my baby… Don't forget me ok? Cause I'll be coming to see you anytime soon." She looks at him and she can't help the tears from escaping her eyes._

_Nicole hugs her again and both cry. _

_XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
_

"Carmen," Shane whispers as she feels a nod in her throat. "I thought you…"

"Yes, I know what I said and I meant every single word, but…there's always a new beginning right?" She shrugs, "The old Shane and Carmen surrounded by the magical cloud of love are gone. We both changed and… we can see what we can do from now on…"

Carmen sighs as she continues. "Look Shane, I can't promise you that this is going to work. Nothing has been said related to us, but we have to fucking try, don't we?"

Shane looks at her with a big grin on her face. "Yes…we have to fucking try."

"First things first… we have to talk. And we have a loooot to talk about."

Shane nods and opens the door wide so Carmen could step inside.

Once they are face to face, Shane is unable to take it anymore and bursts into tears and hugs Carmen. "Thank you… thank you so much."

Carmen returns the hug and immediately cries, too at the feeling of Shane's body. "I've missed you so much."

Only a few feet away Bette, Tina, Alice, Jenny and Helena watch in tears the scene before them.

They had just turned to face the house when they saw Carmen knocking on the door.

At first they froze in shock at the presence of the Latina. The urge to run and hug her and tell her how much they had missed her was strong, but they decided to stay away to give Shane and her some privacy.

The gang now exchange smiles with each other and start moving away. There'll be time later for welcomes and hugs. Now it's time for the two of them to fix what they have to fix, it's time for them to talk.

They march feeling content to Bette's house to celebrate friendship, to celebrate love.

Shane pulls away slightly. "What about Nicole and the baby?" She asks really concerned.

"They…"

XXXXXXXX

_Nicole returns to her room after she waved goodbye to Carmen from the front door. She looks visibly sad and sits at the edge of her bed. _

_She looks at a picture on the wall where she and Carmen are holding Alonso the very first day he came home from the hospital. She smiles and takes the picture sweetly and puts it away in her drawer. _

_She then opens her laptop and looks at the long list of emails she had received from the same sender. _

_The last email reads: "I know you must be tired of my emails already. I know it's been six months. If I haven't come to see you in person, it's not for cowardice. It's because I don't want to bother you. I know you have a girl now and that's ok. I deserve all your rejection, but if you just let me explain, please give me a chance to talk to you. Please call me soon, I'll be waiting. Remember, I won't give up on you. I won't give up on Alonso. With love, Lucia."_

"_Everybody deserves a second chance," she repeats the words she told Carmen before. _

_Following her own advice, she takes her cell phone and types a message, "I'll be waiting for you tomorrow. Nicole." She presses send and smiles._

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

"…_.They'll be ok. I know they are going to be ok." Carmen says confidently._

_They sit comfortably on the couch._

"_So when did you come?" Shane asks _

"_Oh 3 days ago, but I went to see my family first. I needed to relax and think about all this you know?"_

"_Oh, I understand… And what did you….?"_

_They stay like that talking and catching up on every detail of their lives they had missed. _

_They laugh, they cry. Opening for the first time their hearts to one another, trying to find in each other's eyes the pieces they need to gather to complete that complicated puzzle. The most complicated of all; the puzzle of love._

_**Fin** _


End file.
